MINNEAPOLIS — The Otsego truck driver who drove into a massive protest on the Interstate 35W bridge last summer in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder will see the two criminal charges against him dropped if he remains law-abiding for the next year.
Bogdan Vechirko, 36, entered into what is called a "continuance without prosecution" agreement with Hennepin County prosecutors before District Judge William Koch on Friday.
Vechirko appeared via an online court session that lasted about 20 minutes. The arrangement is not a plea bargain and he didn't speak beyond saying, "yes sir" to Koch's questions about the process. Vechirko wore a suitcoat and dress shirt as he sat behind attorney Kevin DeVore.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman didn't charge Vechirko in the incident until last October, months after it transpired. In charging Vechirko with threats of violence, a felony, and criminal vehicular operation, a gross misdemeanor, the prosecutor said he had admitted to investigators that he was "kind of in a hurry," and that the investigation found he sought to "scare" protesters out of his path.
The incident was especially unsettling because it came amid days and nights of upheaval in the Twin Cities following Floyd's murder by former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin. Like Floyd's killing, the incident on the bridge was captured on surveillance cameras.
Vechirko was seen driving his big rig onto the bridge as hundreds of pedestrians protested the death of Floyd. Vechirko said at the time he was returning from a fuel delivery in south Minneapolis and didn't intend to drive into the protest or aim to hurt anyone.
But the criminal complaint said investigators reviewed cellphone videos showing that Vechirko should have known something was occurring on the bridge because of the large crowd and vehicles stopped on I-35W northbound on the road leading to the bridge.
The agreement approved Friday requires Vechirko to remain law-abiding for a year, pay restitution and attend three sentencing circles. He's already attended two. Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Daniel Allard said Vechirko would be required to pay restitution, but he was unable to provide an amount to the court Friday.
While Vechirko didn't address the court during the brief hearing, one victim was allowed to provide a statement.
Bennett Hartz of Minneapolis, a protester on the bridge that day, talked about the ongoing trauma he experiences from the event, saying he still has nightmares and jumps out of his skin when he hears fireworks or a car backfire. Hartz called it a "miracle" that no one was killed that day.
Koch acknowledged that, saying, "I don't think anybody looking at that would have taken any bet that no one would be seriously injured."
At the time Vechirko was charged, attorney Mark Solheim said the driver was faced with a terrifying situation and did what he could to avoid injuring anyone.
Solheim said Vechirko saw the crowd on the bridge and "relied on his professional instinct and training to avoid a hard brake that could have jackknifed the truck and could have seriously injured or killed thousands of people, and instead slowed his vehicle while maneuvering through the parted crowd."
Returning from a fuel delivery to a south Minneapolis gas station, Vechirko got on Interstate 94 via the Hennepin/Lyndale ramp at 5:44 p.m.
The criminal complaint said "at least" one protester suffered abrasions as she jumped to get out of the truck's path.
None of the protesters who attacked and injured Vechirko was charged. Vechirko suffered cuts to his face, and his wife told the Star Tribune that his cellphone, wallet and other items in the truck's cab were stolen.
